As Jacqueline sat in her office, she was writing away in her journal. To the average person, they'd call it a diary. She didn't think of it that way, but it does fit the criteria. She didn't let anyone but herself read it, she only wrote in it if she was going through some type of feeling, and she only wrote about her, and only her. Although that does pass as a diary, she always denied that it was. With her pen in hand and thoughts running through her mind, she started back writing.

      When I was a child, I wouldn't only read stories, I would become them. I would wear ball gowns of every color and insist that you call me Cinderella, Belle, or Snow White for weeks on end. It was not until I was twelve, when I read The Power of Myth, that I understood what had been happening to me.

Joseph Campbell dedicated his life to tell us that myths and stories are essential to our survival:

      "Myths are clues to the spiritual potentialities of the human life...Myth helps you to put your mind in touch with this experience of being alive." All that time I had been playing dress up was really a way for me to live deeply and fully.

      But, as it happens, I stopped reading fairy tales and I started chasing a 'Happily Ever After' that I thought would please and impress everyone around me. I found myself at an Ivy League institution, interning at one of the top magazines in the country, and owning a demanding start-up business.

      Sooner than later, my belief in magic was buried under some very convincing "should's" and "have to's." Oh, and let's not forget some other ones we often hear: "Listen to the experts before you listen to yourself!" and "You have to kill yourself with hard work if you ever want to 'make it." Well, all of this snowballed into some very convincing whispers in my brain that were getting louder and louder, screaming, "You're not good enough, you're not good enough" around the clock.

      Smash cut to anxiety disorder and insomnia among other lovely medical diagnoses – not to mention a Nyquil addiction and my hair falling out in clumps. But what was the most disconcerting was my heart: shaking and screaming inside of my chest like a bird in a cage that knew it was about to die.

      What was going wrong? I was doing everything so "right!" On paper, my life looked like a dream!

      But it wasn't my dream.

      The challenge of listening to my own heart – of shedding the socially acceptable notions of "perfection" – has been its own beautiful, complex story with many, many components. However, following the urge to re-discover some of my favorite fairy tales has been more healing than I could ever even imagine. Beauty and the Beast had always been my favorite, but re-reading it as grown woman unlocked something unexpectedly gorgeous inside of me.

      Now, I understand that Belle's love for the wildness within the Beast was what saved both the Beast and herself. In loving something untamed, she too learned to love, accept, and adore the untamable inside of her own being. And that is what made Belle beautiful, and what allowed her 'Happily Ever After' to occur. So, what if we could be a little more like Belle? What if we could wrap our arms around the feral thing peering out of souls and whisper, "Yes, yes, you are wonderful?"

      Oftentimes, we find ourselves afraid of our wild natures. Most modern notions of "success" are based on very masculine ideals of "keeping at it" and tearing down others to get to the "top."

      About to write her next sentence, she was interrupted by Alice barging in on her. Placing her pen down and closing her yellow composition book, she looked forward at her friend, wondering what she wanted. Alice sat in the wooden chair that was in front of Jacqueline's desk, smirking away. Jacqueline was in no mood for the bull, so she just went ahead to ask, "Yes?"  She was almost finished for the moment, but that was before her friend walked in on her time of peace.

      "I, uh, noticed that you came back to your place a little later than the rest. So tell me, what went on in the meeting room that just convinced you to stay?" Her grin wouldn't leave her face if her life depended on it, so it was no use to tell her to stop messing around. Jacqueline lowered her raised eyebrow, keeping her eyes on Alice.

      "It's a little something called, 'None-of-your-business,' and that's what kept me in for so long," she answered. That caused Alice's smirk to drop into an evil look, making Jacqueline happy inside, since she couldn't stand when Alice was in her business. Alice clicked her tongue and cocked her head to it's side.

      "Fine, be that way. Sorry for trying to be an awesome friend that just so happens to care for another friend." Jacqueline just scoffed. She knew what Alice was doing; she always had. Alice was doing the old "Guilt-my-friend-into-telling-me-a-secret" bit. It never failed because Jacqueline would always crack under pressure. She hated that she always did that, but that was just one of the perks of being her. "Alice, I know what you're doing. I'm not an idiot," she said to her. Alice looked at her friend, but kept going.

      "Did he ask you out again, or better yet, did you tell him you wanted to be more than friends?" She joked. She sat her hands on the glass op of the table, leaning into it, but not too far. She witnessed Jacqueline roll her eyes. That meant that she'd started getting irritated, probably more than she was already. She took this chance to bug her even further. "Come on, Jackie. Don't lie and tell me you two weren't sucking each other's faces off in there," she teased.

      This was going too far. It was only so much Jacqueline could take, but this took the cake. She slammed her hands on the table, close to breaking the glass. She moved her hair from her face, almost red in the face, but she was able to keep her blood from going towards her face like that. She licked her bottom lip in an enticing way, close to jumping off at the edge of chaos. She leaned in forward just so Alice knew she was done with her limitless games.

      "Look, there was no kissing, no me wanting to be more than friends, and no one asked out the other. With that said, I'm going to need you to shut that bullshit that is coming out of your mouth up, before I toss you out of the window. I get enough of his endless flirting and goo-goo eyes everyday, and you do this? No, it's not going to go like this anymore. Either you stop all this 'boyfriend and girlfriend' crap, or I'll just have to make you stop myself. Do I make myself clear?" Jacqueline was known for her nice and sweet nature, but she didn't take too kindly to the bull.

      Alice knew this, but she just loved to push her buttons. This is the first time that Alice had seen her like...this. Now sitting back in her chair, she swallowed and looked at Jacqueline in the eyes. With her head held high, she spoke, "Alright, alright," she had her hands held in a defensive manner and continued, "I-I get it. Fine, but don't get your undies in a bunch. I was only joking." Jacqueline gave her a hard, cold stare with her chocolate orbs ripping into her heart.

      "Get the hell out of my office, Alice. I have work to finish," she answered with the wave of her hand.